#rnarayanjewellers

[jewellerydiaries-blog]

R Narayan Jewellers: Of Heritage, Heirlooms & High-Fashion

R Narayan Jewellers has been evolving as a brand yet staying true to their craft that has made them soar higher above the mundane ground. Click on to get a glimpse of a store that’s a nucleus of variety and creativity.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Kaan Pe Kaan

(The prize winner of the Kaan Pe Kaan contest organised by NJ; images courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

Narayan Jewellers, the Ramakant Ambalal Chokshi Group brought home the gold, so to speak, making their personal victory a shared joy. By throwing their already open doors further wide to not just their clientele but whomsoever chose to participate, they turned their win into hometown glory. Kaan is the style of earring named after the fact that its shape is styled after that of the human ear. Some earrings may fall into the category of one size fits all. However, Kaan pe Kaan was held specifically with regard to the Kaan earrings from the Bridal Design set. The beautiful peacocks from which punkahs dangled were made for petite little ears. Safe to say; that fact alone made them perfect contest material. 

(The prize winner of the Kaan Pe Kaan contest organised by NJ; images courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.)

The ladies trouped into the NJ store over a period of three days to try their luck and see if the earring fit. There was much enthusiasm shown by way of the attire the ladies showed up in and the beaming hopeful smiles they wore when trying on the jewellery. Then of course, in true Cinderella-glass-slipper style, there was the odd enthusiastic mother who made that adorably eager extra effort to get her daughter's ear to fit the earring. It wouldn't be reminiscent of Cinderella if at least one such incident didn't occur. In the end, three winners were picked, three lucky ladies. 

(The prize winner of the Kaan Pe Kaan contest organised by NJ; images courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.)

Third prize, runner-up and the winner. All in all, the contest was a success and three happy young ladies went home with their prizes. We'd call that joy multiplied, wouldn't you?

[nj-vadodara-blog]

If the earring fits!

Remember Cinderella?

(Cinderella concept art and story sketches by Mary Blair and Disney Studio Artists; image courtesy of Pinterest.) That's a classic fairytale which has been around for ages! If it hasn't been narrated to you at bedtime or if you, somehow managed to miss all those movies based on the famed story up to this very point in your life; worry not, the clock has not struck 12 yet! We're more than happy to summarise it for you. Cinderella and the Glass Shoe is the story of a kind girl who lost her parents, was left in the care of her stepmother and step-siblings, all of whom did not take a liking to her and as a result, left all of the hard work to her. When a Royal ball was announced, she managed to attend it but left her glass shoe behind in an attempt to meet her midnight curfew. The aforementioned shoe is what PrinceCharming used to find this mysterious maiden by whom he was so mesmerised. After too many trials to count, the shoe fit the right foot; Cinderella's, and they lived happily ever after, the end. This little tale has inspired many an imaginative mind over the years and it certainly lit up a bulb in the brains of our young designers at NJ. How would they share the joy of the award with their patrons?

(The Kaan earring from the Bridal Design set; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) By hosting a contest; starring the Kaan earring from the Bridal Design Set in the lead role. As the glass shoe was to Cinderella, so the earring would be to whomsoever it fit! Kaan Pe Kaan is what they called it. Let the search begin! More on the contest in the next post, stay tuned gentlefolk!

[nj-vadodara-blog]

As Proud as a Peacock!

(The proud peacock; image courtesy of Getty Images.) 

 We’ve got the peacock on a pedestal, what with its place of pride as the National Bird in India. The fact that this beautiful bird with that natural crown atop its head, its stunning colours and majestic tail feathers that fan out perfectly is immensely appealing, aesthetically; makes for the prettiest picture. This bird, in particular, has played muse to innumerable creative minds the world over, in particular, to our very own designers at Narayan Jewellers, the Ramakant Ambalal Chokshi Group. The peacock is the mascot at NJ so it is only natural that it features as a part of multiple designs with regard to different pieces of jewellery.

(The April 1918 cover of Vogue starring the white peacock; image courtesy of Pinterest.) In this particular award-winning design, the proud peacock perched atop a punkah each worked seamlessly into the design of the earrings. This style of earring goes by the name Kaan, which literally translates to “ear”. The design is shaped exactly like a human ear and is quite a popular choice when it comes to bridal jewellery; it covers the entire ear thus embellishing it beautifully. The designers at NJ went with the magnificence that defines the aura of the arresting bird and selected the most precious of gems to incorporate into the design. Brilliant vilandi diamonds, vivid rubies, striking emeralds and lustrous accents of pearls! Simplicity at its most authentic and elegant best shown in the uncomplicated shapes and the line of precious hearts encompassing the diamonds that line the outer ear.

(The NJ mascot taking the shape of a Kaan earring; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

The punkah that dangles from this Kaan style earring; the fan upon which the peacock is meant to perch is a detachable piece of jewellery. The punkah, much like the pendants upon the necklace, is studded with the very same rubies, vilandi diamonds, the emeralds and those lovely strings of pearls. Nothing short of admirable precision shines through this well-thought-out design that is clearly laden with inspiration from history, culture and an inheritance of impeccable taste

[nj-vadodara-blog]

She is Woman.

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

 Woman. An individual, is what she is, before anything else. A human being. A person; with opinions based on experiences that form as a life is lived. Beautiful eyes lined with kohl; that have observed and recorded and stored away lessons to learn from. Warrior paint upon those still lips that claim her own space through words or by deeds. A mind that functions in overdrive just to make sure every possible loose end is tied up. A throat adorned by metals deemed practically divine in patterns as intricate as the workings of her mind that conjures up the voice held safe within that space whenever she so feels the urge. Shoulders that are seemingly petite but in actuality bear the weight of a thousand different worlds inhabited by the many personas or roles that she takes on in her lifetime; Atlas would know. She leans forward, interested in what you have to say, open to a difference in opinion, holding back her judgement that could be as heavy or as light as the gorgeous ring on her finger; things aren’t always as they seem. She houses many different women within her because she isn’t just one thing. She is half the population. She is Woman.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

The peacock strut; downright irresistable!

(The model is wearing the award-winning Mor Pankh necklace, a creation of Narayan Jewellers, a Ramakant Ambalal Chokshi Group; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) The Mor Pankh necklace won the award in the 'Best Bridal Design' category.

The prominent jewellery magazine, 

Indian Jeweller (IJ)

in collaboration with

Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS) 

put together the award ceremony called the

Jewellers Choice Awards

which was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan on the 23rd of December 2017.

'Mor Pankh'

is a necklace designed by

Ravi and Tosha Chokshi

and crafted at the hands of their expert karigars. The award-winning necklace is made up of 300 carats worth of emeralds, 100 carats of vilandi, rubies, gold, & Keshi pearls studded in 22ct of gold. It took about a solid 6 months beginning with the conception of the design to all that hard labour finally coming to actual fruition. More about the entire set that the Mor Pankh is a part of and the concept behind this gorgeous design in the next post. Stay tuned gentlefolk.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

The winners take it all!

(Ravi and Tosha Chokshi receiving the prestigious award for Best Bridal Design at the Jewellery Choice Awards in Jaipur.) 

 Awards suggest merit, excellence, calibre and worth. Winning an award suggests that hard work; patience and leaps of faith have paid off. You take a risk when you enter a contest; you take the product of your toil and tears and you offer it up for judgement and critique. It always pays off; either in the form of a pat on the back, “Congratulations you’ve won!) or in the form of being just a participant and not the winner. Either way, lessons are learned; of participation, team effort, taking chances, trusting your gut, believing in your capabilities, doing better and moving forward. Narayan Jewellers, the Ramakant Ambalal Chokshi Group at Avanti Chambers, Vadodara Gujarat participated in a contest held by the leading Jewellery magazine Indian Jeweller (IJ) in collaboration with Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS). Two designs were submitted and listed among the final nominations in the category of Best Necklace Design and Best Bridal Design above Rs 15, 00,000. December 2017 rolled in and Ravi and Tosha Chokshi (designers of the submissions) stepped into the spotlight to receive the award for the 'Best Bridal Design' category at the Jewellers Choice Awards held in Jaipur. There were many distinguished jewellery houses from all across India who were participants in this competition. Winning and all that the experience entailed was infinitely rewarding (pun totally intended!).

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Que sera, sera

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

 When I was just a little girl I asked my mother What will I be Will I be pretty Will I be rich Here's what she said to me Que sera, sera Whatever will be, will be The future's not ours to see Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

Doris Day

[nj-vadodara-blog]

When her feet hit the ground..

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

 ...She can dance circles around you!

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Making a statement; with necklaces.

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

 Every bride will tell you that playing dress up requires knowledge of the essentials. Most girls have all of their youth to acquire said knowledge so that when the big day arrives they will have a plan of action in place. The bridal trousseau will have the finalists polished and camera-ready; by finalists we mean the trinkets that have been chosen for their day in the sun. 

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

The necklace is a major player in the bridal jewellery game. Every eye in the vicinity will fall upon it at some point or the other for certain; all the more reason for the wearer to make sure that necklace is “the one”. Depending on her outfit, the bride has a number of styles to choose from, to make sure the entire outfit is well-coordinated and that each part of her ensemble compliments the other.

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

The choker is quite the popular choice. Striking on its own; it can also be coupled with a long string of jewels or pearls puts together a rather grand picture, add to that the fact that the bride can make use of those pieces individually on later occasions as she so chooses. The bib necklace is another trending style. As the name suggests, it is in the shape of a baby’s bib (it is tied around the necks of babies while they are being fed so that they’re clothes aren’t ruined in case they dribble or drool) and is usually studded with gemstones and jewels. So if the neckline of the outfit is relatively simple, this piece of jewellery stands out better. Collar necklaces or crewnecks are also quite the trend and are, as the name suggests, worn around the collar area. Rani Haar is a style that is as luxuriously grand as it sounds, as royal as they come in design and by the look of them as well. Then you have your multiple stringed necklaces and threaded necklaces that go well for a look that’s more toned down and not as formal. 

(Image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

Choices have always been a good thing, especially as far as jewellery is concerned and you will never really hear those who like to dress up complain about too many options.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Put a Ring on it!

(A beautiful statement Vilandi ring; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) Traditional finger rings are made of precious metals like gold, silver or white gold (which is said to burn a smaller hole in your pocket as compared to gold), studded with precious gemstones, carved in the precious metal it is made of or they are simple bands that go on the ring finger. 

(Statement ring; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

 The ring finger is the fourth finger, next to the pinkie a.k.a the little finger. The belief is that a vein runs from this finger straight to the heart; this connection marks the significance of wearing engagement or wedding bands on the ring finger in most cultures. Having said that, there are some cultures in which there is no particular finger on which the ring is to be worn and in certain cultures, the right hand is considered auspicious hence it becomes the ring bearing hand.

(Aishwarya Rai with a statement ring on her finger in a still from Jodha Akbar; image courtesy of Pinterest.) 

 As per Indian customs, certain gemstones are to be worn solely on the corresponding finger and this is with regard to the astrological belief system. The nine planetary gemstones are the Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire (index finger), Red Coral (ring finger), Ruby, Emerald (little finger), Hessonite (middle finger), Diamond, Pearl (little finger) and the Cat’s Eye (little finger). Wedding rings are most often ornately embellished although modern brides also tend to select designs that suggest minimalism and simplicity are in vogue.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Hathphool

(Tribal women of Gujrat in India wearing traditional silver haathphool and blessing a newly married woman; image courtesy of Sanghamitra Sarkar.)

 Hathphool refers to the term “hand flower” and this terminology originated in India. Hathphool describes a piece of jewellery that is a hand ornament which is a part of the bridal trousseau; it has five rings – one for each finger and the thumb, each ring is attached to a chain which, in turn, is connected to a bracelet that goes around the wrist. 

(Meena Kumari donning the haathphool ornament in a still from a film; image courtesy of Cinestaan.) The five rings are said to represent five Indian Goddesses who would provide any sort of protection as required by the family of the bride in times of dire need. Later on, these rings were simply said to stand for the bonds of holy matrimony. The rings were connected to chains and a central floral design or medallion of some sort that covers the top of the hand.

(Madhubala in a film still sporting the hathphool ornament; image courtesy of Hindustan Times.) 

 Sometimes the left thumb ring would have a mirror worked into the design which is known as an “Aarsi” and the purpose of the aarsi was to give the bride a glimpse of the groom because the veil covering her face would prove to be a hindrance.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Baaju-band.

(Aishwarya Rai in Jodha Akbar sporting the baaju-band on both arms; image courtesy of Pinterest.) 

 A baaju-band also known as an armband or an armlet is an ornamental piece of jewellery that goes around the upper arm or bicep and it is designed to be close-fitting. It is made of precious metals such as gold or silver or brass. They can be studded with gemstones as well.

(An ornamental baaju-band on a bride's arm; image courtesy of Pinterest.) These armlets form a part of not just the Indian bride’s trousseau but those of a lot of other cultures as well; Balinese, Sudanese and Javanese, to name a few. Sri Lankan history suggests that both, men and women wore armlets and women wore them mostly to ward off evil or bad luck.

(A traditional Indonesian bride wearing the armlets on her biceps; image courtesy of Pinterest.)

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Bol Choodiyan, bol Kangana!

(A stack of Vilandi, Jadau & gold bangles with enamelled paintings even on the inside; image courtesy of Narayan Jewellers.) 

Bangles a.k.a choodiyan a.k.a Kangana are a part of a woman’s jewellery box, especially in India and for married women, in particular, they hold most significance. Brides don bangles of certain colours and made of certain materials depending on what their culture and tradition call for; India being a country chock-full of diverse cultures – there’s a wide array of bangles worn by brides and the resultant reasons for the same. Beginning with our home-state, Gujarat; bangles made of Ivory are generally passed down from mother to daughter, an inheritance and a gift without which, the bride cannot proceed with the ritual of the seven rounds taking the holy matrimonial vows around the sacred fire, also known as “saat phere” or the “saptapati” ritual. This is similar and true for the state of Rajasthan as well which is a neighbouring state.

(A set of Choora and Kalira on a young Punjabi bride's hands; image courtesy of Pinterest.) The tradition in Punjab is that the bride wears bangles that are made in the combination of red and white. The white bangles are most often carved ivory and these are known as “Choora”. The bride is supposed to wear these for at least a month or sometimes an entire year because they signify her newly-married status. The Kalira is a long umbrella shaped ornament that is tied to the bride’s wrists and the ritual involving this is equivalent to the Christian custom of throwing the bouquet; in this case the bride shakes the kalira over each of her friends’/ bridesmaids’ heads and on whomsoever’s head it falls – that young lady is considered next in line to be married. This is made of gold or silver plated design. 

(Maharashtrian bride's bangle ritual; image courtesy of Pinterest.) In Maharashtra, the bride wears glass bangles in green along with solid gold bangles called “Patlya” and carved kadas called “Tode”. In Bengal and Odisha, the brides wear bangles that are made out of conch shell and red coral; yet another combination of red and white bangles.

(Set of bangles on the wrists of a South Indian bride; image courtesy of Pinterest.) 

In the South, brides don bangles made of solid gold as gold is considered most auspicious; these are paired with green bangles which symbolise prosperity and fertility. Hence bangles are an important part of a bride’s trousseau apart from being an accessory that can be worn otherwise on other occasions as well.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Kamarbandh!

(The Travancore Sisters, South Indian Royalty with the gold belts {oddiyanam} on Lalitha, Ragini & Padmini; image courtesy of Pinterest.) The Kamarbandh has been around for centuries as far as Indian jewellery is concerned; this is the piece of jewellery that goes around the kamar (waist) hence is known as the kamar-bandh (waist-band). It began as a trend of ornamentation that was common to sexes, male and female but what was once considered unisex is, in this day and age, solely a female accessory. 

(Simi Garewal in a still from a 1960s film wearing a kamarbandh; image courtesy of Pinterest.) Be it, for religious purposes or simply as a means of ornamentation and an indication of prestige, the kamarbandh has been around for a significantly long time. In the south, it is an important bridal accessory and is known as an Oddiyanam and most often these are carved with a deity in the centre surrounded by studded gemstones. Gold embellished with precious gems or silver, the belt goes around the waist of the bride to hold her sari or lehenga in place. It is now an essential part of the bridal wardrobe; whether minimal and delicate or heavy and intricate. The kamarbandh is created in a variety of manners, catering to the many preferences that different individuals may have depending on their attire and personal taste.

[nj-vadodara-blog]

Best foot forward.

(Image courtesy of Pinterest.)

(Top to bottom: A single Indian Silver anklet from Rajasthan ca. 1st half of the 1900s; image courtesy of Pinterest. A pair of silver anklets India from Gujarat 19th-20th century; image courtesy of Christie's.)

 Anklets, nupur and payal are some of the names that the ankle bracelet goes by; girls and women alike, of Indian origin, have been wearing these since time immemorial. It has more to do with tradition than trend so what passes as a mere fashion statement in the West is rooted in history and inheritance on Indian soil. Whether she belongs to a tribe in a village tucked far away or a bustling metropolitan city, anklets are adornments but also a part of her daily life, sometimes never taken off. 

(Tribal women wearing different kinds of anklets; images courtesy of Getty Images.) 

The belief is that anklets, like most Indian jewellery, have a significant role to play wherein affecting the human body is concerned. The reproductive organs, in particular, have the most to gain from the wearing of anklets by women. It is also believed that a person’s energy is contained and controlled by wearing such anklets, especially in silver.  

(Images courtesy of Getty Images and Pinterest.) 

 Anklets are an essential part of a bride’s jewellery set and a dancer’s alike; in the dancer’s case it’s a delightful set of bells made of metal strung together that are tied to the dancer’s feet and these produce a variety of musical sounds. This musical anklet is known as a ghungroo and is the focus of dances that rely on the sort of choreography that consists of a lot of footwork. 

(Indian dancers wear ghungroo on their ankles; images courtesy of Getty Images.) 

Having said all of that, it is seen as a fashion accessory but never just that alone.